Take A Bow
by impersonal
Summary: Go on, Michiru, take a bow.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Inspired by real life events, and "Take a Bow" by Rihanna.**

* * *

You look so dumb right now.

"…Haruka…you came for me again…" Your voice laced with drunk.

You shifted around in the bed and nuzzle your face on the dark blue cotton sheets. You don't look like you want to go anywhere at all. Then why call me in the first place to take you away?

"…ha ha…Haruka you fool…" you stutter in mid drift.

Your eyes opened a little to stare at me.

"I tried my best to keep her away," Mamoru's gentle low voice floated into my ears from behind me.

I know he is standing at the doorframe of the guest room of his house. You shuffle around the bed sheets again and rolled over to your right, seemingly trying to fall asleep. Your favourite white summer party dress is total ruin like always, with the straps falling off your shoulders and the dress looking so dirtied by your wine and beer over spill. Your favourite lacey white bra would be half exposed to me, along with half your white chest that's been exposed with the awkward position of your dress now. Your face is one calm angelic look that matches the flayed around white summer dress. You look like a fallen angel with blue wavy hair.

"Yano Ethan had his eyes on her the whole party I know, but he didn't do anything, I swear, I was watching out for her," Mamoru began his guilty confession, not that he has anything to be guilty about in the first place.

"It's alright, her ex can rape her for all I care," I lied, not looking at him still.

"Haruka-san, are you serious?!" Mamoru voiced his concern, a little shocked.

"Who am I to save her?" I continued, still staring at the rising and falling of your whole body.

"You're her best friend, Haruka, although…" and his voice trailed off.

Yes I know, you don't treat me like one. Which best friend treats their best friend as a back-up lover? I'm no best friend- I'm your part time lover, part time friend. I come and go as you please, whenever you need me, whenever you don't. I'm always at home with Hotaru and Setsuna. I will always be there for you to take you home, make you feel alright. I'm always your safe haven, so much so that you want to leave it and find your own excitement elsewhere. You know, you being at home, it's never your world. It's always our world.

I know you want your own world.

"I'll call a cab for you? It's not far from the outers' mansion to here, but it's better with Michiru-san at this condition and I'm unable to drive-"

"No," I said, picking you up from the bed into a piggy back style.

"I'll walk."

"Hmmm…Haruka…! Don't be so rough…ha ha…" I can't decide if I love or hate your giggle, but you continued, "I had a gooood time at the party…though all the males there cannot be compared to you…"

Great, Michiru. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.

"Yano Ethan didn't speak to her, but his friends did, and they flirting terribly with her-" Mamoru said, worriedly as I proceeded to walk past him out of the guest room. "They kinda taunted her about their relationship I think, before I literally tore her away from that group of men. "

I continued walking with her on shifting her weight around on my back as she partially nuzzled my shoulder.

"My point is, Haruka-san, she didn't have a good time at all."

I paused at the doorway of his house for a while, before turning to look at him for the first time since I stepped into his house to pick Michiru up. I opened my mouth and asked "You know the reason she asked you to be her escort to that party, right?"

"She said it's because you're not free?"

Liar, Michiru. Who knows you could be such a little bluff. "I was sitting at home watching 5 year old Hotaru colour her picture book with Sets."

"I…was told-"

"It's okay, Mamoru-san."

"You're dumb…Haruka…" I hear you mutter as I bowed slightly and walked out of Mamoru's house.

"…Take a bow, Michiru."

"You actually believed I was going for a meeting with my sponsors…ha ha ha…again! This is like the tenth time…" you giggle again, shivering on my back involuntarily as I walk out of the warm of the building into the dawning day where the chilly air breezes fresh.

"I went off to my own world without you again Haruka…aren't you angry…?" I can feel your breath on my neck as you bury your face into my back. "Then again…Haruka…you never get angry with me…" I can feel your lips curl up into a smile and that movement tickles me.

Oddly, that was funny.

"Ethan wants me back again… what do you think I should do…?" and you giggle again, before continuing "stupid question…you want me all for yourself don't you, Haruka?" I shrugged, letting silence engulf us in the wee early morning chill, before you continued "should I, Haruka?"

"Depends on yourself," was my reply as I bend into the corner with you on my back, walking home to where two people are waiting for us to be home.

"ha ha…but you better not be seeing that girl…what's her name? Ah, Bitchtrice? From the racetrack you're working at as a mechanic…" and you start laughing at your own coarse language, something only I've seen and heard before. "I want you at home when I come home…always…"

I passed by a row of trees rustling with the breeze. Poor trees. Look how they rustle and want to be taken along with the wind, yet stay rooted at the same spot. Why? But luckily for their leaves…leaves can detach and move along with the wind. Your voice…interrupts the wind. "Go with me to the mall later at night…I wanna pick a nice dress so that I would look nice when going shopping with my orchestra colleagues tomorrow…"

And you don't have to pick a nice dress to go shopping with me.

"I wanna sleep...Haruka…hush…" and you laid on my back. I want to sleep too, Michiru. I didn't want to rush out of the house at 6 in the morning after staying awake the last 24 hours at home making sure things are right at home for you to spend the weekend at.

I want my own world without you too, Michiru.

Shortly after passing by the trees, I crossed a four way junction to reach the other side of the street. There, instead of taking the left turn which would bring me right home to Hotaru and Setsuna in a minute times, I took a left turn. I let Michiru linger on my back with the steady breathing of her sleeping form felt against my back. A detour, is all I took. 30 minutes later, I arrive back at the house which was still quiet. The rest of them wouldn't wake up until about seven thirty in the morning. I put Michiru down on her bed in her room.

In thirty minutes, I packed whatever I needed, left a letter addressing to Hotaru and Setsuna with my contact details and bank accounts for them, and left for good. I want my own world too, Michiru, where I belong. I don't belong to you. This is the only way to show you how serious I am about it. I want to race famously, I want to do everything I wanted to do but gave up to have a possibility of a life with you. You in the music scene famous violinist and artist with me, the unknown lesbian lover of yours.

Go on and take a bow, Michiru.

You put on quite a show to have me going on hopelessly for the last five years.

Go on and take a bow, Michiru.

You had the whole world fooled into believing you're in love with me, including me, wanting for some kind of happy ending conclusion at the end. I believe in the happy ending, I believe it when you said you love me but we had to wait until things stabilize to be together. I believed it when you said Ethan was just a stepping stone in your heart that you just wanted a fling though your heart's with me. I believed it when you said I'm more important than the whole world to you. You fooled me, Michiru.

Go on and take a bow, Michiru.

Go on, without me.


End file.
